Thursday, January 24, 2013

I haven't posted any dessert recipes for a while, so, it being National Peanut Butter Day and all, I decided that the time has come to blog a recipe I devised in 2007 for my now-defunct Vegan Feast newsletter. (Of course, you can use another nut butter if you or a loved one or guest is allergic to peanuts.) These babies are not what I would call low-fat, but, at 225 calories each, they are not excessively rich either. (The "triple-threat", BTW, is cocoa powder, semisweet chocolate, and chocolate liqueur.) Mmmmmm!

(For GF, I'm sure an all-purpose GF flour mix would work in the batter.)

Makes 24 cupcakes

A delightful treat containing two of my favorite things—chocolate
and peanut butter. I kept the fat as low
as I could, while still producing a moist, triple-chocolaty, peanuty-rich
treat. My guests and granddaughters gobbled
them up. PS: They are not as complicated
as they look! The Filling and Ganache can be made ahead of time. You may have
to bring the Ganache to room temperature to spread properly if it is quite cold.

Process all of the ingredients together in a food processor
until very smooth. Scoop into a bowl and
refrigerate until time to use.

Making the Ganache:

Process the chocolate finely in a DRY food processor. Leave the chocolate in the processor.

Whip the soymilk and silken tofu together in the blender or
with a hand blender until VERY smooth.
Heat it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until almost
to the boiling point. OR microwave
it in a microwave-save bowl for about 1 minute at 50 percent power, or until
very hot, but not boiling. (If the
mixture seems to curdle at all, blend it again until smooth.)

With the motor running, pour the hot soy creme in through the
feed tube. Process until the mixture is
smooth. Add the liqueur and process
briefly. Scoop into a bowl, cover and
cool.

Making the Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place 2 racks in the lower and
middle third of the oven. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with parchment or silicone
cupcake liners.

Mixture A (Cocoa Mix):

Place the cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the
boiling water and whisk until a smooth paste forms. Whisk in the
"buttermilk" until well-combined. Set aside.

Mixture B (Dry Mix):

In another medium bowl, whisk the flours with the baking
soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in
the 4 oz. chocolate chips. Set aside.

Mixture C (“Butter” Mix):

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the
vegan butter and applesauce with the sugar until it's light and fluffy, about
3 minutes. Beat in the soy yogurt and and vanilla.

Mixing: To Mixture C (“Butter”
Mix), add 1/2 of Mixture B (Dry Mix), stirring with a wooden spoon; then add half
of Mixture A (Cocoa Mix), stirring again with a wooden spoon. Repeat this procedure once again with the
last halves of Mixture B and Mixture A.
Do not overbeat—blend just until the mixtures are blended (like muffin
batter).

Carefully spoon 1/2 cupcake batter into the lined muffin
cups. Scoop about 1 Tbs. of the Peanut
Butter Filling into the center of each muffin cup of batter, pressing it gently
down into the batter a bit.

When you
have filled all the muffin cups, spoon the remaining batter evenly over each
mound of Peanut Butter Filling-topped chocolate batter, completely hiding the
filling.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are springy
and test done when a cake tester is inserted into the side of one. (They may have sunk a little in the center,
but that's okay!) Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then
transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. When the cupcakes are cool, ice
them with the Ganache (you may have to bring it to room temperature to spread
properly if it is quite cold).

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